


Swept By the Tempest Of Your Love

by Cinaed



Category: Yozakura Quartet
Genre: F/M, Pre-Het, Yuletide, Yuletide 2009
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 06:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinaed/pseuds/Cinaed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyosuke knows he is outmatched, bound as he is.</p><p>"Oh plunge me deep in love, put out<br/>My senses, leave me deaf and blind,<br/>Swept by the tempest of your love,<br/>A taper in a rushing wind."<br/>- "I Am Not Yours" by Sara Teasdale</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swept By the Tempest Of Your Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spicy_diamond](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicy_diamond/gifts).



Kyosuke knows he is outmatched, bound as he is. When they train, Hime is lightning and he is the tops of the trees just waiting to be struck and burned. He does his best, but nine out of ten matches leave him winded and sprawled on the ground, defeated. (The occasional victories are only when he can surprise her with a new move.) It would be more sensible for her to train daily with Kotoha-- Hime cannot improve if she is not challenged, and he knows he is only hindering her with his laughable attempts to spar. 

  


  


Still, he cannot bring himself to suggest giving up their sessions, no matter how much time they're wasting. Giving the training up would mean losing too many things: Hime's shark-like victory grin that makes her entire face glow, her hand's lingering warmth as she helps him up from the dirt, the easy laughter that escapes her after she's won. These things almost make the shackles worth it. Almost. 

  


  


Today, Kyosuke and Hime spar, circling each other likes wolves. Hime's eyes gleam as she searches for an opening. It is a chilly fall day, and the wind and the current fight have blown her hair into total disarray and brought out a pale pink in her cheeks. She is gorgeous like this, but then, she always is. She simply wears varying shades of beauty. 

  


  


The only hint to her plan of attack is the slight narrowing of her eyes, but it is enough. Kyosuke leaps out of reach, and lets out a breathless laugh at this small victory. He can taste the sweat beading his upper lip, and licks at the salt as he grins at her. "You've gained .07 kilograms this week," he informs her. "Getting large and slow, I see." 

  


  


This time her eyes narrow in irritation, and she lunges recklessly, earning herself a glancing blow on the shoulder. It won't slow her down, he knows, but it will make her even more annoyed than she already is. 

  


  


"Perhaps I should tell Akina to stop feeding you so many noodles," he teases, and is just starting to grin at her sputter of outrage before she full-body tackles him. All the breath rushes out of him in one sharp exhale as he hits the earth. She lands on top of him, body warm and heavy against his. For a moment, he just stays still, the scent of her sweat and shampoo filling his senses. He can feel her breath on his cheek, and it almost banishes the chill of the fall air. 

  


  


Their gazes meet; he cannot read the look in her eyes, but it dries out his mouth nonetheless. The thought of kissing her is almost always in the back of his mind, but never as much as it is right now. It would be so simple to close the centimeters between them and kiss her. So simple, and yet impossible, because he has always known that Hime will be the one to start this relationship, take that first step, not him. 

  


  


After what seems like forever but is probably only a minute, she rolls away. The moment passes, and Kyosuke watches it go with more than a little regret. 

  


  


"If you tell Akina that, I will end you," she informs him. Her voice is quiet though, and there is something in her tone that he cannot read, even as he adjusts his glasses and squints at her flushed features. She looks different, almost tentative, which is an expression that sits oddly on her face. It is almost too much to hope for that she is regretting not bridging that gap, but then, sometimes Kyosuke likes to be an optimist. 

  


  


"I won't," he says after a moment, when the silence lingers and he realizes she probably expects a reply. The odd look is still on her face. He smiles at her, wanting to banish that expression, and then looks up at the sound of approaching footsteps. 

  


  


Kotoha smiles back, looking almost apologetic. 

  


  


Kyosuke gets up, wincing as bruised areas protest, even as Hime bounces to her feet. The movement is effortless, as though they haven't just spent the past hour sparring. 

  


  


"Kotoha!" Grinning with more teeth than is strictly necessary, Hime tilts her head. "Want to fight? I've taken Kyosuke down three times today. I need a challenge." 

  


  


"You took me down _once_," Kyosuke objects, if just for pride's sake. He isn't surprised when she ignores him. 

  


  


Kotoha wrinkles her nose. "Do I have to?" she says woefully, but her body is already shifting into a defensive position. 

  


  


Kyosuke settles back to watch Kotoha and Hime trade blows and kicks like choreographed dancers. He tucks away the memory of Hime's body pressed flush against his. The seal had dug into his wrist during the tumble; he can feel the dull, steady ache all the way up his arm. He looks down, stares at the painful-looking red mark that looks like a brand, feels the weight increase tenfold. There is a bitter taste in the back of his throat, thick and sour like bile.

  


  


"That's cheating!" Kotoha yells suddenly, and he drags his gaze away from the seal. 

  


  


Hime is grinning, bright and reckless. Something eases in him at the sight. 

  


  


Kyosuke thinks he will head back to the office soon. Maybe he'll get Akina to prepare some extra noodles tonight. It might mean extra training tomorrow to work off the calories, but it will be worth it, just to see Hime's delighted surprise. 

 


End file.
